- Tesco introduces rare, mini avocados or Zilla Egg
It’s the fruit sensation that’s graced millions of Instagram feeds and quickly become a breakfast staple.
CHESHUNT, England, 2017-Aug-22 — /EPR Retail News/ — Now for a limited time only, customers at Tesco will be able to enjoy small, snack–sized avocados, as well as regular-sized varieties.
- Available in packs of six, the fruit – which are the size of an egg – will be sold in recyclable egg style boxes to prevent them from getting spoiled.
This is the latest move by Tesco to work in partnership with suppliers so that no edible food goes to waste. Traditionally these smaller avocados would have been rejected by growers due to their size. Growers have worked hard so that these diminutive eggs are of the same high quality as their larger counterparts.
The rare, mini avocados or Zilla Eggs are about a third of the size of regular avocados and are 24 times smaller than the giant sized Avozilla avocado, which Tesco has sold in a limited number of stores in recent years.
Tesco avocado buyer James Cantoni said:
“At Tesco we’re passionate about working in partnership with our suppliers to tackle food waste from farm to fork.
“These Zilla Eggs are a brilliant way to offer customers great tasting, high quality avocados, which previously would have been rejected by growers because of their size.
“They are perfect for customers who want to snack, without the usual fuss or worry of wasting the other half of the avocado. And it also helps producers who are able to sell even more of their avocado crop.”
In recent years the popularity of avocados has overtaken the demand for more established favourites, with demand soaring by more than 30 per cent last year.
It is hoped the trial by Tesco will help to widen the fruit’s appeal even further. The size and delicate skin, which can be peeled away by hand, makes these miniature avocados ideal snacking foods, and a perfect addition to a school lunch box.
The Zilla Eggs are available from today until stocks run out in 100 stores and in boxes of six priced at £2.
Avocado sizes:
The mini Zilla Egg avocado weighs around 70g
The average avocado weighs around 200g
The Avozilla weighs upto 1.7kg
Note to editors:
Tesco believes that no food that could be eaten should be wasted. That’s why we’ve committed that no food that is safe for human consumption will go to waste from Tesco UK retail operations by the end of 2017.
Other recent food waste initiatives by Tesco include:
Perfectly Imperfect
The range which includes apples, pears, potatoes, parsnips, cucumbers, courgettes, strawberries and frozen mixed berries has proved popular with customers which in turn has benefitted suppliers.
In March 2016 Tesco launched our ‘Perfectly Imperfect’ range of wonky fruit and vegetables –using produce that falls outside of our specifications and is available to customers at lower prices.
Crop flushes
Earlier this summer there was an unexpected bumper crop of strawberries, cherries and raspberries and we worked with our growers to make sure none went to waste by selling them at market-leading prices in kilo boxes.
In spite of our advanced forecasting and ordering systems, at certain times of the year we have to manage crop flushes, or ‘bumper crops’.
Re-sealable salad bags
Earlier this year Tesco launched salad bags with a sliding lock similar to the ones used on cheese bags to keep the contents fresher and stop them from spilling out inside the fridge. Salads are one of the UK’s most wasted foods by households.
Community Food Connection
Last year we launched Community Food Connection. This is a programme in partnership with food redistribution charity FareShare and social enterprise FoodCloud which connects Tesco stores to local charities and community groups allowing us to redistribute food that’s left over at the end of the day.
Source: Tesco
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